


Puzzle Pieces

by AutumnNL



Series: Drabbles and One Shots of a Johnlockian Flavor [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence, Established Johnlock, Fluff, M/M, Scars, inspired by a tumblr post, mary is evil, mary is moriartys assassin, sherlock is kinda insecure, sweet and fluffy like cotton candy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2018-02-07 20:02:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1911942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutumnNL/pseuds/AutumnNL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in the same universe as the first in this series (The One Where Sherlock Finally Shuts Up) which just means Sherlock came back after only a year and told Mycroft to suck it and have his goons track down the rest of Moriarty's web. </p><p>Also CANON DIVERGENCE LIKE WOAH<br/>and Mary bashing/Mary's totes evil in this</p><p>Inspired by a Tumblr Post where Sherlock is insecure about his bullet scar where Mary shot him and starts wearing a shirt even in the flat until John catches him without one and shows him his shoulder wound like "we match"<br/>Fluff ensues</p>
            </blockquote>





	Puzzle Pieces

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot cover the cost of the dental fillings required after you get cavities from reading this.

John started to notice Sherlock's new habit, or rather lack of one, after he was released from the hospital. The detective had been on bed rest (not that he actually stayed in bed or rested) for a week after being shot, and technically killed, by the assassin known as A.G.R.A. The assassin, posing as Mary Morstan, was one of Moriarty's and was believed to be his right hand. She had shot Sherlock shortly before Mycroft's men apprehended her. An ambulance took Sherlock to the hospital, as a police cruiser took "Mary" away. There the genius died and lived on the operating table. John waited and worried. In the end they both returned to Baker Street and Mrs. Hudson in one piece, mostly.  
In the Before, as John took to referring to the time before Moriarty and the fall, Sherlock often became distracted and lazy while working a case or on an experiment and simply forgot to wear a shirt. Most days John would descend to the living area to find the consulting detective in a pair of sleep pants and nothing more, puzzling out some problem or draped over the couch in his mind palace. It became a commonplace sight.  
However that was no longer the case. After Sherlock's release from Saint Bart's, the man was careful to always wear a shirt. John noticed and wondered why.  
The answer was that Sherlock did not want John to see his scar. John had already seen the ones caused by his time traipsing after and dismantling the web of criminals connected to James Moriarty. It was the mostly healed bullet hole about which he worried. He did not die from the whip marks on his back or the slices in his legs. He did however die from the bullet nestled only inches above his heart. Sherlock knew how much John had suffered in the days following his operation, how much he worried, how much he wept. Sherlock did not wish to dredge up those memories. So even at night, when the detective and blogger held each other close in bed, Sherlock hid the scars with a shirt.  
It was roughly a month later when the game changed. John left for the surgery early, and Sherlock rose late. His mind was already working over an ongoing case by the time he stepped out of the shower. Without thinking, he left without a shirt. Sherlock was deep in thought all day, pacing and working. He thought nothing of his apparel until he heard John call up the stairs. He reached for a dressing gown too late.  
From the moment Sherlock left the hospital he had refused John's help. John knew what a bullet scar looked like, but seeing one on Sherlock was completely different. John's fingers reached out of their own accord and traced the uneven circle almost reverently. Sherlock was stunned into silence.  
John said nothing and reached to pull his jumper over his head. His shirt and undershirt followed behind until the two men stood there both barechested. John smiled sadly at Sherlock, "See there. Now we match."  
He stepped closer until they were chest to chest. John's chin came level to the scar. He dipped his head to let his lips barely graze the raised scar, making Sherlock shiver. "Don't ever hide yourself again. You are beautiful and nothing will change my mind, Sherlock. You are alive after all this, and these are just reminders."  
He reached up to let his hands trace the crooked scars on the detective's back as Sherlock ran a thumb over John's shoulder where the old battle wound lay.  
They fit together perfectly, like puzzle pieces, each finishing the other. The mind and the heart, wounded but still so alive.


End file.
